PITTSBURGH—The University of Pittsburgh is the only Pennsylvania public college or university included in The Princeton Review’s annual national "Best Value Colleges" list, released today—a project the education services company originated in 2004 and has reported since 2009 with USA TODAY. This is the third consecutive year The Princeton Review has included Pitt among its “Best Value Colleges.”

The 2013 list identifies 150 colleges (75 public and 75 private) The Princeton Review designates as "Best Values" based on assessments that examined more than 30 data points covering academics, cost, and financial aid. The Company chose the 150 schools from 650 colleges and universities at which it conducted institutional and student surveys for this project in 2011-12.

The Princeton Review's "Best Value Colleges" list appears in two free online resources and in a companion book, The Best Value Colleges: The 150 Best-Buy Schools, also released today.

"We commend these colleges for their stellar academics and their exceptional affordability as evidenced by their generous financial aid awards or their comparatively low sticker prices—or both," said Princeton Review Senior Vice President and Publisher Robert Franek, lead author of The Best Value Colleges.

In its profile of Pitt in The Best Value Colleges, The Princeton Review describes the University as “An academic powerhouse” and “one of Pennsylvania’s premier institutions,” and it features a pullout quote—“Being in the middle of everything with the greatest people you can find”—under the heading, “Why Students Love Pitt.” The book’s Pitt profile also praises the University for establishing “a number of fantastic programs that enhance (and encourage) learning beyond the classroom,” including the Outside the Classroom Curriculum program, the Co-Op Engineering Education Program, the “stellar” University Honors College, and PITT ARTS.

In its section featuring student comments, the profile on Pitt states that the University “has done quite a job amassing a group of highly content students. … Pitt manages to foster a ‘friendly’ atmosphere that often feels ‘truly electric.’” “[D]espite being a large school, Pitt still ‘values each individual student and makes everyone feel welcome and accepted.’ Moreover, undergrads note Pitt’s great reputation and say that it is most definitely warranted.” Students “are also full of praise for their professors, citing that they are ‘brilliant’ and ‘caring.’ … As one pleased student happily sums up, ‘I’ve had nothing but great experiences here, and I would never go anywhere else.’”

Founded in 1981, The Princeton Review is a privately held education services company headquartered in Framingham, Mass., and is not affiliated with Princeton University. The Company offers test preparation services, tutoring and admissions resources, online courses, and more than 150 print and digital books published by Random House, Inc.